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Occult Crimes Unit Investigation series
Occult Crimes Unit Investigation series — aka Morris & Chastain Supernatural Investigations — by Justin Gustainis Genres and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy / Noir Urban Fantasy / Alternate History UF / Police Procedural Series Description or Overview Scranton, Pennsylvania fifty years after WWII is a different place than one might expect. When millions of Americans poured into Europe to fight in the war, they picked up a little something extra to bring back home besides war wives and interesting STD’s. Quaint little things like cases of werewolves and vampires and zombies (oh, my!) Needless to say, it changed the way life is lived in the good ol’ US of A. Instead of McCarthy going after ‘Commies’ he gets to do real, honest-to-goodness witch hunts – for real witches. . . ~ So, I Read This Book Today ✥ Hard Spell is set in a world where the supernatural has been widely prevalent in America since the end of World War II. Apparently, the supernatural came back with the troops returning from Europe (a bit like some kind of STD that nobody admits to having and never gets treatment for) subsequent generations have accepted the existence of goblins, vampires, werewolves, wizards and witches with equanimity. The supernatural is legislated for with black magic and acts that would harm people being illegal and publishable by prison or death – otherwise there is pretty much a ‘live and let unlive’ attitude towards the supernatural and undead. ~ Hard Spell - Love Vampires Lead's Species * Paranormal Police detective, human Primary Supe * Variety: vampires, werewolves, wizards, witches What Sets it Apart * Narrative Type and Narrators *First person — pulpy, hardboiled style by Stan, a police officer in the Occult Crimes division Books in Series Occult Crimes Unit series: # Hard Spell (2011) # Evil Dark (2012) # Known Devil (2013) Shorts, Novellas, Anthologies and Guides * Those Who Fight Monsters (2011) — "Deal Breaker" Quincey Morris series Companion Series, Spinoffs, Sequels or Prequels Quincey Morris series World Building Setings Alternate Scranton, PA * Set in the alternate Wyoming Valley in Northeast Pennsylvania 'Supernatural Elements' Para-Police detective, vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, necromancers, demon, wizard, white witch, faery, elves, goblins, elven robbers, Ley lines, cultists, dhampir, supe mafia, Glossary: * 'Groups & Organizations': * Church of the True Cross: extremist organization that hates all the supernaturals World In this alternate world, this part of Pennsylvania has an above-normal population of supernaturals (aka "supes") because it is located at the intersection of ten different ley lines. According to this mythology, supernaturals were relatively uncommon in the U.S. prior to World War II, having been scared off centuries ago by the fanatically religious Puritans and the Salem witch trials. During the War, however, many soldiers were infected by European supes and returned home as vampires and werewolves. Others met up with various sorcerers and necromancers and became intrigued with the black arts. Increased access to air travel after the War allowed fast and easy travel to the U.S., and the supernatural population has been rising ever since. Gustainis weaves the supes into the stories nicely, each species having its own characteristics, history, and language. History in this world mimics the real world, but with supernatural twists. For example in this series, Senator Joe McCarthy's Congressional hearings in the 1950s were literally a witch hunt as he demanded "Are you now, or have you even been, a member of a coven?" (p. 12) Later, Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream Speech" included naturals and supernaturals on the list of disparate groups that he dreamed would live in harmony. Gustainis has fun twisting pop culture icons into supernatural parodies. Stan shops for blood at the Vlad Mart. He enjoys reading John Steinbeck's novel, Of Elves and Men. A James Bond film is entitled From Transylvania with Love. ~ Fangtastic Protagonist The hero (or anti-hero) of the series is Detective Sergeant Stanley (Stan) Markowski of the Scranton Police Department's Occult and Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit (aka the Supe Squad). In book 1 he introduces himself to us in a Joe-Friday-esqe manner, but with a supernatural spin: "My name's Markowski. I carry a badge. Also a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9 mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets." The trailer for book 1 even imitates Dragnet's opening credits, showing a full-screen shot of a police badge, but instead of 714, the number is 666. When Markowski and his partner need back-up, they call in the SWAT team, but in this world SWAT stands for Sacred Weapons and Tactics unit, and some of its members are priests. ~ Fangtastic Book Cover Blurbs ✥ BOOK ONE BLURB—Hard Spell (2011): In this "alternate universe," supernatural creatures really exist, and everybody knows it. In Scranton, PA, when a "supe" breaks the law, they call Detective Sgt. Stan Markowski of the Occult Crimes Unit. Now somebody is murdering vampires in Scranton, and Stan learns that it's all part of a renegade wizard's ritual to gain ultimate power. Unless this evil magician can be stopped before the spell is completed, Bad Things Will Happen. Fortunately, when it comes to busting supes, Stan markowski is one bad motherf**ker. ~ Goodreads | Hard Spell (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation #1) by Justin Gustainis ✥ BOOK TWO BLURB—Evil Dark (2012): In this second adventure of Stan Markowski and the Scranton Police Department's Occult Crimes Investigation Unit, Stan and the crew are confronted with the kind of crime they never even knew existed. Someone is making supernatural "snuff films" and selling them on the black market. Each one of these sadistic videos follows the same pattern: two men are shown, both tied to chairs. Then, off-camera, a sorcerer summons a demon, which "possesses" one of the men. He is then released from his bonds, and the demon uses the body of its new host to commit various gross atrocities on the poor bastard in the other chair, until the victim finally dies. The FBI has been after the perpetrators of this vileness for some time, but now they have shocking news for Stan and the rest of the Supe Squad: there is evidence that at least one of the videos was recorded in Scranton. Stan and the other detectives are on the case at once, but there are certain criminal interests who want their investigation to stop, and who will do anything — anything — to keep the blood money flowing. ~ Goodreads | Evil Dark (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation, #2) by Justin Gustainis ✥ BOOK THREE BLURB—Known Devil (2013): My name’s Markowski. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets. “A new supernatural gang is intent on invading Scranton and it looks like I’m going to have to work with the current mob to prevent a demonic gang war. “If there’s one thing I hate more than living with supernatural scumbags, it’s working with them! But you know that they say, better the devil you know…” ~Goodreads Category:Series